Royal Bank of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for NOV (NYSE:NOV) Stock

NOV (NYSE:NOV - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by equities researchers at Royal Bank of Canada from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "sector perform" rating on the oil and gas exploration company's stock. Royal Bank of Canada's target price would suggest a potential upside of 37.95% from the company's previous close.

NOV has been the subject of several other research reports. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of NOV in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $17.00 target price for the company. ATB Capital reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of NOV in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup cut NOV from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $21.00 to $18.00 in a report on Monday, November 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on NOV from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of NOV from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $19.53.

NOV Price Performance

Shares of NOV stock traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $15.95. 3,891,955 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,862,502. NOV has a fifty-two week low of $13.94 and a fifty-two week high of $21.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The stock's fifty day moving average is $14.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.10. The company has a market cap of $6.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.64.

NOV (NYSE:NOV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.06. NOV had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 7.16%. Sell-side analysts forecast that NOV will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David D. Harrison sold 1,784 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.10, for a total value of $28,722.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 110,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,786,311.10. This trade represents a 1.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NOV

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NOV. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its position in NOV by 22.3% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 43,027,106 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $687,143,000 after purchasing an additional 7,851,220 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NOV by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 37,153,173 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $593,336,000 after buying an additional 6,963,660 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of NOV by 12,344.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 12,309,433 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $179,718,000 after buying an additional 12,210,514 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in NOV by 22.1% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,182,044 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $75,658,000 after buying an additional 938,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenhaven Associates Inc. lifted its stake in NOV by 61.7% in the fourth quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 3,291,042 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $48,049,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255,666 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.27% of the company's stock.

About NOV

NOV Inc designs, constructs, manufactures, and sells systems, components, and products for oil and gas drilling and production, and industrial and renewable energy sectors in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Energy Equipment, and Energy Products and Services. The company provides solids control and waste management equipment and services, managed pressure drilling, drilling fluids, premium drillpipe, wired pipe, drilling optimization services, tubular inspection and coating services, instrumentation, downhole tools, and drill bits.